Indiana Leopard: Cat Lady Kills Big Cat

Apparently the love of a “crazy cat lady” comes with size restrictions.

A leopard has been shot and killed on the property of a woman in Charlestown, Indiana. Concerned about a recent spate of attacks on neighborhood pets, the woman and her boyfriend sat up all night, watching what they believed was going to be a bobcat.

Upon seeing movement at the tree line on the edge of her land, the as yet unidentified woman instructed her male companion to shoot. They were, naturally, surprised to find that the animal was a leopard, a species native to vast areas of land across Africa and Asia—but not Indiana.

Adult leopards can weigh up to 200 lbs. and run at speeds of up to 35 mph. Bobcats typically weigh around 30 lbs. So if she indeed thought this animal was a bobcat, it would have been a doozy.

The woman owns several housecats and was concerned for their safety. According to a neighbor, Donna Duke, “she’s got cats that are basically her family.”

Officials are searching for the origin of the big cat. Indiana residents are allowed to keep such exotic animals, provided they have the appropriate permit, but no legal owners of leopards have yet claimed responsibility.

This incident comes on the heels of a tiger attack in western Indiana on Friday. Marissa Dub, 21, a worker at an exotic cat rescue operation in Center Point, Ind. was mauled while cleaning the cage of an adult tiger named Raja.